Broken zips, sleeve sewn shut: Union raises SA firefighter safety concerns

Adelaide fire trucks have been grounded and some firefighting training temporarily cancelled, a union claims, amid concerns about the supply and maintenance of protective gear.

The United Firefighters Union has lodged a dispute in the SA Employment Tribunal, claiming the SA Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) has failed to provide enough personal protective equipment (PPE) to its firefighters.

In documents lodged to the tribunal, the union argued the MFS had also failed to ensure its protective gear was "maintained, repaired, or replaced such that it continues to minimise risk to the worker who uses it".

"We seem to be faced with a massive failure of the PPE system in the MFS," Union acting secretary Peter Russell told the ABC.

"We've had items sewn on incorrectly, we've had things facing the wrong way, I think we had a sleeve sewn shut at one point in time.

"If that PPE is not working properly a firefighter could be exposed to severe injury or they could be killed."

Photos provided by the union to the ABC show MFS gear with broken zippers and repairs.

Mr Russell said it was "impossible" to quantify how much MFS gear the union considered unsafe, as the service was unable to provide records.

"Even the newest gear… we have a very severe concern that the zips on those ensembles are faulty and [are] capable of coming apart during firefighting activities, exposing firefighters to risks of severe burns or death," he said.

The MFS said all of its "current operational structural firefighting" PPE met relevant industry standards and there was enough supply to ensure firefighters could safely respond to calls for help.

It said since 2023, the MFS had also been introducing new PPE.

"The safety of firefighters and the community is paramount," a spokesperson for the service said.

Concerns over laundering delay 

Mr Russell said firefighters had told him "on many occasions" about their concern for how long PPE was taking to return from laundering. 

He said delays of six weeks or longer had been reported to him and it had led to shortages. 

"Firefighters are reluctant to put their firefighting gear in for laundering when it needs it, and risking using contaminated gear, because they do not trust that the system will return their gear to them," he said. 

A lack of sufficient PPE is also to blame for fire trucks at the Elizabeth MFS station not being usable across the June long weekend, according to Mr Russell. 

He said the union's own investigation had uncovered this was not an isolated incident. 

"It became apparent to us that it wasn't an issue isolated to that station,"Mr Russell said. 

"In effect, 30-year-old, 25-year-old sets of PPE had been reintroduced into circulation that never should have been."

A MFS spokesperson did not comment on the Elizabeth example but said it was "not unusual" for a truck to be taken "offline" after it had responded to an incident. 

"During this period firefighters and appliances are decontaminated, and equipment and PPE are restored and/or replaced as necessary," they said.

"Established processes are in place to ensure coverage is maintained and response times met during these periods."

The spokesperson said in addition to individually-issued PPE, the MFS had reserves in several storage spaces "strategically located" across Adelaide.

"These caches are used to replenish PPE sent for decontamination and ensure firefighters continue to have access to fit-for-purpose protective equipment when responding to multiple incidents," they said.

"Older PPE sets identified in some caches have been removed."

'Temporary pause' on structural firefighter training

In a memo released earlier this month, and seen by the ABC, MFS chief officer Jeff Swann wrote that its Angle Park training centre "must not be used for training unless approval has been granted by the chief officer due to extenuating circumstances".

"This temporary pause will remain in place while the MFS considers the matters raised and determines any further steps that may be required," he wrote.

"Staff are reminded that recent MFS safety alerts have been issued regarding structural firefighting personal protective equipment, including alerts relating to the operation of LHD Sabre structural coat zippers and potential zipper separation."

Mr Russell said the shortage of PPE was partly to blame and he did not known when training would resume at the site.

"The situation has gotten so bad that they've had to close part of their training centre because they cannot operate it anymore safely," he said.

"If we're not running training, how are firefighters being equipped?"

A MFS spokesperson said a review was underway to ensure the training centre remained "safe and effective".

"Other training can continue to take place on site and this pause does not impact frontline emergency response," they said.

Emergency Services Minister Rhiannon Pearce said the state government continued to invest in firefighter equipment, training and resources.

"The Malinauskas Government has increased funding for emergency services including an extra $3.7 million for the MFS in 2024-25, compared to the previous financial year, and a further $589,000 to support the agency's large scale event response," she said.